I have a splitting headache

So I've taken some Tylenol and I am going to lie down for a bit.  Hope I don't miss the ball drop.  I'll set a couple of alarms to make sure.

Yay! I'm off work tomorrow and I have lots of stuff planned (subject to change, of course)

Things I have to do sometime either tonight or tomorrow:
1. Two weeks’ of game notes.
2. A book review.
3. Straighten up the bedroom.
4. Sort laundry.
5. Give a libation of honey to Hekate for the turning of the year.
6. Water the plants.
7. Fill the fish tanks and work on the pumps for each.

Things I’d like to do:
1. Read.
2. Watch some DVDs (including ‘Downton Abbey’, which I am terribly behind on.
3. Listen to some music.
4. Have a quiet evening at home.
5. Watch the New York ball drop at midnight tonight, either on my phone (yes, there’s an application for that), or on TV.

No alcohol, parties, etc., but then I don't like to be out on the roads with the drunks on New Year's Eve. Happy New Year! May it be bright and wonderful and bring you happiness and blessings. It's so hard to believe we're just a few hours from 2015!

Good grief

I put my phone on fingerprint lock last night and got locked out this morning,  and couldn't remember the other password,  my Google password,  etc.  My PIN was not an option.  After so many tries,  only the alternative password will work.  So I had to go to a store and have it factory reset. I mostly had music and pictures on an SD card,  so that was fine. So I have been downloading lots of apps from Google and Amazon and getting my customising settings back.  Needless to say,  I've gone back to a PIN lock. Also,  of course,  YKWIA and A laughed their butts off.  Sheesh.

Well

I had a decent day at work today, although it was a little hard to go back after having five days off, and I can’t say I was fully into it, although I was productive and such. It wasn’t horribly busy in scheduling, and everyone who isn’t on maternity leave was there, so we didn’t really get behind like a couple of weeks ago. I managed to get my charges in, but I still have some work to do on the referrals and reconciliation of surgery charges to catch up on from being off Friday, but I should be able to do that tomorrow. I checked my personal time off and once Christmas Eve, Christmas, the 26th, and New Year’s are accounted for, I should still have about two-and-a-half days left, and I’ll get about 10 hours on this next cheque in addition, so almost four days. I’m tempted to take January 2nd off, but I really should try to keep building up time and do something other than using it for doctors’ appointments.

I also tried to figure out exactly what was going on with that cheque I sent the other day through overnight (excuse me, it’s now called priority express) mail. Turns out it made it to New York but they just left a notice on Saturday because no one was there to receive it, even though I’d asked the postal clerk who waited on me if they would leave it since I hadn’t requested a signature and he said they would. It hadn’t been re-delivered as of 4 pm. I checked with the post office, and the recipient has to request re-delivery, it looks like, so it’s possible that the letter I spent $20 to get there as soon as possible might be delayed further. It has to be there by sometime on the 31st. So I called the company I was sending it to and spent 35 minutes on hold between two extensions to be told that if for some reason the letter does not reach them by the 31st, the loan I’m trying to pay on will not automatically default as of January 1st, most likely, anyway, and she noted on my account that I had sent it Friday by priority express mail. I feel a little better, but I’m pretty darn frustrated. While tracking is a wonderful thing, it seems to mess up any of my dealings with the post office. For example, if I order an item from Amazon or somewhere like that and they send it with tracking—even with something on the outside saying the carrier should leave the package if no answer—I simply cannot get it at my apartment, even though we have four postal containers for packages. Instead, I have to have it sent to work, and I don’t know exactly what to do when I no longer have a job there, as the main mail stores around here aren’t open late, such as after normal business hours, and if I have to go over to someplace near the post office, well, I might as well get a PO box at the actual post office, the nearest of which is a quarter of the way around town.

I tried to get some medication for some friends and myself today, but unfortunately wasn’t able to get to their house and then over to the pharmacy before they closed, so I’ll be going directly from work tomorrow in the hopes of getting it. YKWIA and I are also going to make a promised cake for someone whose birthday was back in October, but we had some issues (I was sick, for example) during that time and we weren’t able to make it. The goal is to get it done before the end of the year, so tomorrow I’m going to the grocery and get a few dairy items so we can do that. Tonight I fixed some fish and rice for a friend and we watched another episode of ‘Hart of Dixie’ on Netflix. I must admit, the show is really growing on me.

Now I’m home, the Christmas lights are on, and I’m trying to catch up on writing on this blog. I also need to finish a book review and work on the game notes in the next few days.

YKWIA found a video earlier that was just hilarious, by ‘Saturday Night Live’. Trust them to take the whole torture report and make things actually funny. I especially like the jab at Time Warner Cable:



I laughed myself silly. Okay, I should probably sign off for the night. Hope you have a great new year!

In the last couple of days I have

1. Gone to the library.
2. Returned a few library books.
3. Paid my electric bill while I was there.
4. Tried to set up a bill pay through my bank, but it wouldn't allow me a date earlier than the absolute last day it was due.
5. Took my cable/internet equipment back to Time Warner Cable and explained that I was cancelling service.
6. Went to the bank and got a cashier's cheque.
7. Mailed an overnight envelope with the important bill in it, to the tune of $20 for postage.
8. Drove to Danville.
9. Visited with my mom and her family overnight.
10. Read part of a book on my Kindle.
11. Exchanged gifts.
12. Returned to Lexington.
13. Decompressed over at a friend's house.
14. Took a friend to the grocery store.
15. Watched a Netflix movie with a friend.
16. Visited to nearly 2 am.
17. Went over at 9 am to get their house ready for the game.
18. Played the game.
19. Talked about some issues that came up during my visit with my mom.

Now I'm home, listening to music, and preparing for bed. Hope you had a good holiday break. It seems weird to be going back to work after a five-day break, but it's good to have been off.

For a goy

I make a mean latke,  whether potato with shallots or a cheese style that had lemon zest and had you separate the eggs and beat the whites before adding them to the mixture.

Today was fun.  We visited,  I helped rearrange some things in my friend's library,  and then I made the latkes,  which everyone enjoyed.  I doubled both recipes,  thankfully,  or there wouldn't have been enough.

I got a shirt from another friend as part of that package that says 'You are about to exceed the limits of my medication',  which I love. Thank you Tammy.

Okay,  I have to figure out my agenda/itinerary for tomorrow.  Hope you had a good holiday. 

Up

Actually, I've been trying to get up since about 5:30 am, when I woke up the first time and then about every half-hour after that. Apparently you can take the girl out of Christmas, but not take the Christmas out of the girl, even if she is pagan, in her mid-forties, and seriously not expecting any presents from Santa this year. For those of you who celebrate it, though, may you have a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous New Year!

Reading

By the way,  if you have an Android phone or tablet or a Kindle Fire,  go to the Amazon store and pick up today's free application,  a narrated,  animated version of the story (in English)  that is normally $4.99. It'll probably be free till about 3 am EST,  or Midnight Pacific time.

I just have

The holiday lights on.  I've been burning a spruce-scented candle.  I've cleaned up all of the house except the bedroom,  which I'll try to work on Saturday.  It's mostly finding places for clothes. I've taken out two bags of trash and four of recyclables.  I've shredded two bags of documents.   I feel like I've accomplished quite a bit today.  I've been listening to the radio (non-Christmas music,  mostly).   Now I'm considering reading for awhile, and then turning in by ten or eleven.  I probably won't blog more tonight.  So take care,  have a wonderful night,  and may you enjoy whatever holiday you celebrate with people you love and who love you as well.

By the way

in 24 posts from now, I will be celebrating 10,000 posts since October 2001. Ten thousand. Wow!